Cam-closed, slidable jaw socket wrench



May 5, 1959 G. J. VBRUHN CAM-CLOSED, SLIDABLE JAW SOCKET WRENCH Filed March 20, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

GEORGE J. BRUHN A TTORNE Y5 G. J. BRUHN 2,884,826 CAM-CLOSED, SLIDABLE JAW SOCKET WRENCH May 5, 1959 2 Shee ts-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1957 INVENTOR. GEORGE d. BRUHN BY 2.6 I J: N

FIG. 2

A TTORNE Y5 United States Patent- C) CAM-CLOSED, SLIDABLE JAW'SOCKET-WRENCH George J. Bruhm'GrandHavem Mich! Application March 20, 1957, Serial No; 647,260"

Claims. (Cl. 81 -128).?

wrench is disclosed in PatentNo. 2,582,444.- .Thi s:type

of wrench is adjustable bya collar having a cammed surface bearingagainst. a plurality of jaws. Rotation of the collar causes the jaws to be moved inwardly or outwardly adaptingthe wrench to ditlerent size. nuts. An-

other Wrench .of this type is disclosed in Patent No. 1

877,773 which hasxa cannned plate with. a pluralityv of carnrned slots which when theplate is rotated position-the aws.

Disclosures of this type have been available for some time,.. however, to my knowledge. no. commercially successful adjustable wrench has yet reached the market. The reason for this is believed to be. the: lack of a construction providing a means. for. rigidly supporting'the jaws andstill permitting the jaws. to be adjusted.

An object. of this invention is. to solve this problern by 5" providing a construction of an adjustable-l'wrenchwhich positively supports the jaws and provides a very; sturdy and lasting apparatus.

Another object of this invention is to provide an. ad-

justable wrench that is easily adjustableiro m the. exterior of the socket. but which still. provides .a. rigid. support for. the :jaws.

Another object of this. invention is to provide at socket wrench that is compact; easily manufactured; andic'om' posed of the number'of parts. 2

Other objects of this invention. willbecome. obvious upon reading. the. following specification. in. conjunction with the accompanying drawingswhereinzi Fig. 1 is a cross-sectionahside. elevationa-lview oil the adjustable socket wrench.

Figl', 2 is a.side,.eIevatiOnaIobIiqiie view ofIthe-J assembledwrench showing a handle'in phantom. n

Fig. 3 is a side elevational oblique, exploded view of the wrench... n

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane IVIV of Fig: 1*.

Fig.5.5 is: a cross-sectionalview takenialongjthe plane V-'V of Figtzl.

Fig .q;6-is a-bottom view of the cap 'for; the housingtillustratingtheneccentric cam means for-locking the: cap on the housing... n

Fig.7, is a cross-sectional view taken alongtheplane VI-IPVII emigre. n v i a 'FigTS is a bottom view oftheassembled wrench.

Fig. 9 is a partial;tcrossesectioiialiview taken along the 2,884,826 ne M 1 4 provided one for'each of the grooves. Each of these jaws a gripping nose extending downwardly through the opening in the base and a flange plate reciprocally mounted in the housing 'with a ridge extending from the bottom oftheplate and seated in one of the grooves. The jaws are actuated by a cammed plate having-cam shaped openings receiving pins extending upwardly from the jaw plates. g

In accordance with one aspect of this invention, I enclose the-entire jawsexceptfor the nose portion extending downwardly from the-housing The housing has a base, a top' and side walls. Thej'aw and nose extend through the base and the flange portion'of the jaw is mounted to slide radially on-the base inside-the housing. A camrned means is operativelyconnected to the flange portion of the jaw for engaging the same and positioning the jaws after they are placed over the nut. The housing has slots in the side walls throughwhich handles extend for actuating the camrned means.

Referring to the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes theassembled socket wrench including anenclos ed hous ing composed of the cup shaped shell 10 enclosed at its open top end by the cap 20. The housing contains the jaws 3 0 and the cam plate40. k h The shell 10 has side walls 11 and a base 12 The side walls ll are threaded at the top end for receiving the cap 20. The walls 11 have two slots 14 each extend ing. partially around the shell and a groove 15 (Fig. 9) receiving an eccentric cam 24that locks the cap 20 on the shell A Base iz has 'a central'openingl 16 from whichfradiaf the"-sIo'ts' 17 (Figs.-5 and 8)-. Projeetingradially non the outer endof the slots 17*are the grooves is-'ntjhe inner face-of=-the base'12 (-Fig. 5).- The slots I7 antl groovesl8 are adapted to receive the jaws'30.

The jaws-'30' zare composed of two parts, the-gripping nose- 31*and" aflange plate 32 connectedtogethef by'th shank 33K The noseis any shape that provide's' th proper nut contacts'urfaces 34. The flaiige plates- 3 2 'wh'ichare s-lidably' mounted in the housingample-shaped.

Eachof these flange plates=has ridges 35 extiiding dawn: wardly- 'into the grooves IS'o'f thebas'e 12. The' grooves thus provide tracks-for the flange plate and prev'eneth jaw's from'=turning.- The fl ange plates'3 2 also'-have 2? pin '36 extending upwar'dly 'and providing a means tenemmin'g thejaws' toward and away rrom'eacn Either will be explained hereinafter. The jaws are 'c'ons't" deli- 6f s'teel'sirnilar to that usedin anytype-'of socket wrench,

The'carn plate 40 is a circulardisc mvmgmeean slots are eiving thepins'36'of the-'jaws' 30: These' camslo'ts are arranged sothat 'upofirotation-of"th 'cai'n plate the jaws are made to grip the nuts Theeam plate has the wing pins 42 extending from its peripheralside through the elongated slots 14 in the shell side-walls 11. seamen to the Wingpins" 4'2""8md' riding onut outside of 'the 'shell pin are -the arcu plates or 'handle's 43'. Preferably these 'handle's 'are serrated'orf knurled-'for faciIi'ta'ti easiengrippi'ifg ofthem: This structure provides a means wherebythe"cam-plate canoe-wowed exterion ofthe entire enelbsed housing;

The cap 20 has a threaded portion 21 engaging the threaded portion fi of the side walls 11.' It hasa deiftralope'nin'g ll forming 'a socket for receiving a" handle 50 as lustratedin hantom"by Fig. 2'. Thec'ap 20 has a ridge 23 p'rotri1ding downwardly andjust barely engaging the cam plate 40. l't is iihpo'rtant tha't teenage-23 does not exert frictional time on the eaiflialat to prevent 'the plate' tfroni turriingi m-nct; it frequenflvprdve's advisable to space the ridge 23 just a very slight distance from the cam plate 40 to limit the upward movement of the cam plate.

Rotation .of the cap with respect to the housing is prevented by an eccentric cam 24 (Figs. 1, 6, 7 and 9) attached to the end of the pin 25 which has a slotted head 26. The eccentric cam is thus rotatable from the top of the cap by means of a screw driver or any other suitable tool.

Assembly This socket wrench is easily assembled. The jaws 30 are first inserted through the aperture 16 of the base 12. When properly positioned the noses 31 of the jaws extend downwardly and the ridges 35 ride in the grooves 18 of the base 12.

After the jaws are located in the shell the cam plate 40 is inserted in the shell so that the pins 36 of the jaws are received in the cam slots 41. The wing pins 42 are then inserted through slots 14 and attached to the sides of the cam plate 40. Then the arcuate plates or handles 43 are attached to the pins 42.

The cap 20 is threaded into the open end of the shell 10 until the ridge 23 barely touches the cam plate 40. I prefer to then back up the cap 20 a half turn leaving sufficient clearance between the ridge 23 and cam plate 40 so that there is no binding. The ridge 23 then merely limits the upward movement of the cam plate. After the cap is inserted care is taken that the eccentric cam 24 is aligned with the groove in the side wall. Then the pin 25 is turned by a screw driver or other tool. This locks the cap to the shell and prevents relative movement between the two elements. The socket wrench is then ready for use.

' Operation The wrench is easily operated by first adjusting the jaws to fully open position by means of turning the handles 43 in the proper direction. Then the socket wrench is inserted over the nut or bolt head and the handles are rotated in the opposite direction causing the jaws to firmly grip the nut. Then the handle 50 shown in phantom in Fig. 2 is inserted into the socket or central opening 22 of cap 20. The handle is rotated causing the wrench to rotate and loosen or tighten the nut.

It should be evident from the above description that I have provided an adjustable socket wrench that is easily adjustable and is rigid and strong. The entire mechanism is enclosed in a housing which rigidly supports the jaws and prevents turning of the same. The unit is compact and constructed of a minimum number of parts. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is relatively low as compared to many adjustable type socket wrenches heretofore proposed.

Having described my invention it should be obvious that alterations or modifications thereof are possible within its broadest'aspect. These alterations and modifications are considered to be covered by this invention unless the appended claims by their language expressly state otherwise.

I claim:

1. A wrench comprising a housing having a base and side walls; said base having a central opening and guide grooves extending radially outwardly from said opening; a plurality of jaws, one for each of said grooves, said jaws each having a gripping nose extending downwardly through said opening and a flange plate laterally, slidably mounted in said housing; a ridge extending from the bottom of each of said flange plates and slidably seated in one of said grooves; a pin extending upwardly from each of said flange plates; a rotary cam plate having cam shaped openings each receiving one of said pins; and means for rotating said cam plate.

2. A wrench comprising a housing having a base and side walls; said base having a central opening and guide grooves extending radially outwardly from said opening;

a plurality of jaws, one for each of said grooves, said jaws each having a gripping nose extending downwardly through said opening and a flange plate laterally, slidably mounted in said housing; a ridge extending from the bottom of each of said flange plates and slidably seated in one of said grooves; a pin extending upwardly from each of said flange plates; a rotary cam plate having cam shaped openings each receiving one of said pins; and at least one handle extending radially from the peripheral side of said cam plate through an opening in said side walls.

3. A wrench comprising a housing having a base and side walls; said base having a central opening and guide grooves extending radially outwardly from said opening; a plurality of jaws, one for each of said grooves, said jaws each having a gripping nose extending downwardly through said opening and a flange plate laterally, slidably mounted in said housing; a ridge extending from the bottom of each of said flange plates and slidably seated in one of said grooves; a pin extending upwardly from each of said flange plates; a rotary cam plate having cam shaped openings each receiving one of said pins; a cover on the top of said housing, a central opening in said cover providing a socket for a handle; and at least one handle extending radially from the peripheral side of said cam plate through an opening in said side walls.

'4. A socket wrench comprising: a housing having a base, a top, and side walls therebetween; a plurality of jaws each having a nose portion and a flange portion; said base having an opening through which said nose portion extends, said flange portion being radially, slid ably mounted in said housing on said base; rotary cam means located between said top and the flange portion of said jaws and engaging said flange portion for positioning the jaws; said housing having at least one opening in the side walls; handle means operatively secured to said rotary cam means and extending through said side wall opening for exteriorly adjusting the jaws; and said top having a central opening providing a socket for a handle.

5. A socket wrench comprising a housing having a base, a top, and side walls therebetween; a plurality of jaws each having a nose portion and a flange portion; said base having an opening through which said nose portion extends, said flange portion being radially, slidably mounted in said housing on said base; cam means located between said top and the flange portion of said jaws and engaging said flange portion for positioning the jaws; said top and said side walls having threaded portions engaging each other; said top having a central opening providing a socket, said socket adapted to receive a handle; and an eccentric friction cam element mounted between saidv threaded portions and providing a locking means to prevent relative movement between I said top and side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS France Aug. 11, 1931 

